Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/willemjanszoonblOOstev 



PUBLICATIONS OF 
THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 

No. 85 




(J. Falck sculp.) 



Willem Janszoon Blaeu. 1.571-1638 






WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU 

1571-1638 



A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND WORK 

WITH AX ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIS 

LARGE WORLD MAP OF 1605 

FACSIMILE 

OF THE UNIQUE COPY BELONGING TO 

THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 

EIGHTEEN SHEETS WITH KEY PLATE 



BY 

EDWARD LUTHER STEVENSON, PH.D. 




NEW YORK 

1914 






2fi 



Copyright, 1914, by 

The Hispanic Society 

or America 



M -4 1914 

©CI. A 387355 
1**o / 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU 11 

WORLD MAP OF 1605 51 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 61 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BLAEU'S PRINCIPAL GEOGRAPHICAL 

PUBLICATIONS 65 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Willem Janszoon Blaeu. 1571-1638 (J. Falck, sculp.) . Frontispiece^ 

Facing Page 
Island of Hveen, showing the location of Uranienburg. From Le 

Grand Atlas ,12' 

Press invented by Blaeu. From Johnson, J. Typographia . . . 16" 

Interior of Tycho Brahe's Observatory at Uranienburg. From 
Le Grand Atlas 30 

Terrestrial globe and celestial globe, 1616. Willem Janszoon Blaeu 44' 

World Map from Toonneel des Aerdrycx, by Willem Janszoon 
Blaeu 52 

Printer's mark of the Blaeu Press [tail-piece, page 59]. > 



WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU 

1571-1638 



WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU 

AND HIS 

WORLD MAP OF 1605 

WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU, one of 
Holland's most distinguished map and globe 
makers of the early seventeenth century, was 
born at the village of Alkmaar in the year 1571; such is 
the record which finds general acceptance. 1 

Of his childhood nothing is known. It was some time in 
his early boyhood days that he went to Amsterdam, where 
he found employment, it appears at first, in the house of a 
Holland merchant, and later as a joiner's apprentice. We 
can be certain neither of the time when he decided to leave 
Amsterdam, nor of the circumstances which induced him to 
visit the island of Hveen, then belonging to Denmark, 2 an 
event of much significance in his life. We, however, can- 
not be far wrong in asserting the promptings for this visit 
to have been his early liking for mathematical, geograph- 
ical and astronomical studies. On this island he was 

i An exhaustive study of the life debtedness to Baudet's work for in- 

and work of Willem Janszoon Blaeu valuable aid in the preparation of this 

does not exist. One of great value and brief biography. 

interest is that by Baudet, P. J. H. 2 See illustration, p. 12. This, it 

Leven en werken van Willem Jansz. will be noted, is a map signed "Insula 

Blaeu, uitgegeven door het Provincial Hvaena sive Venusia k Gviljelmo 

Utrechtsch genootschap van kunsten Blaev cum sum Tychone Astronomiae 

en wetenschappen. Utrecht, 1871. operam daret delineata." 

The author acknowledges here his in- 

11 



brought into intimate relations with Tycho Brahe, the 
famous Danish astronomer, who, in 1576, established here 
his observatory at the Castle of Uranienburg. 3 For near a 
quarter of a century, this was one of the most famous cen- 
ters in all Europe for the study of astronomical science and 
of its practical applications. Blaeu, let it be noted, was 
not the first of the young Netherlander who found his way 
to Uranienburg that he might receive astronomical in- 
structions from the great master. As early as 1591, Jacob 
Florent van Langren of Amsterdam sent his son Arnold 
to the Danish astronomer with a request that he might be 
allowed to copy the catalogue of the stars which had been 
located at his observatory, wishing to make use of the same 
in the new celestial globes which he proposed to construct. 
This special request, we are informed, was not granted, 
for Brahe's records were not yet complete, but young van 
Langren was given permission to see the large celestial 
globe which was in the observatory, and on which at the 
time of the visit 800 stars had been represented. 4 It is 

3 See illustration, p. 30. taken from Brahe: Astronomiae in- 
August 8, 1576, the corner-stone of stauratae mechanica. 1598. 
the Castle of Uranienburg was laid 4 This great copper globe, which 
with much ceremony, and the comple- Picard describes as having a diameter 
tion of the building was made possible of 4 feet 7 inches and 1 line, con- 
through the generous contributions structed in Augsburg under the direc- 
and patronage of Frederick II of tion of Paul Hainzel, appears to have 
Denmark. See, for a brief description, been sent to Uranienburg about 1584. 
Wolf: Geschichte der Astronomie, In the course of succeeding years 
Miinchen, 1877, p. 277 ; Picard, J. more than one thousand stars were 
Voyage d'Uranibourg, ou observations represented on its surface according 
astronomiques faites en Dannemarck. to the observations of Tycho Brahe. 
(Mem. de VAcad. royale des sci- In 1597 the great astronomer left Den- 
ences depuis 1666 jusque a 1699, torn. mark to find a home in Prague, taking 
VII, p. 197); Blaeu: Atlas Major, with him his astronomical instruments, 
vol. I, pp. 61-101. Twelve illustra- including his celestial globe. After 
tions of the Island of Hveen, and of Brahe's death in 1601, these instru- 
the observatory of Uranienburg, with ments were purchased by Rudolph II, 
brief description, may here be found. but on the capture of the City of 
These illustrations, it appears, were Prague in 1623 by the Danish Prince 

12 




o 



stated that Tycho often had as many as ten or twelve boys 
at his observatory as his assistants. 

We have but little direct information concerning Blaeu's 
sojourn at Uranienburg. It appears certain that he passed 
at least two years with Brahe, engaged the while in study 
and in the construction of mathematical and astronomical 
instruments. May 21, 1596, the day of the young Holland- 
er's departure for his native land, Brahe made the follow- 
ing entry in his day-book, which book may be found in the 
Imperial Library of Vienna, "Abiit domum in Hollan- 
diam, Vilhelmus Batavius cum per integram hyemen his 
fuisset," and by Gassendi we are told that Guilielmus 
Janssonius had been with Tycho for two years, although 
he does not make it certain that it was for two consecutive 
years. That the relations between the two distinguished 
scientists continued to be of the most friendly character 
long after the date given above is very certain, as not a few 
of those who in later years in praising Blaeu's scientific 
attainments refer to him as "the pupil and longtime friend 
of Brahe," yet neither of them appears in his writings to 
have made more than a passing allusion to their relations. 5 

It cannot be doubted that Blaeu owed to his abode on 
the island of Hveen the real foundation of his scientific 
knowledge, both in the field of geography and of astron- 
omy, as well as his knowledge of the construction and the 
skilful use of mathematical instruments. We have reason 
for believing that a number of the instruments which 
served the great astronomer in his investigations, were the 

Ulrich the globe with other objects of s John Blaeu, son of Willem, tells 

interest was taken to Copenhagen. us that in 1591 his father was amanu- 

Here it remained until 1728, when it ensis of Tycho Brahe. See Blaeu: At- 

was destroyed by fire together with las Major, 1662, vol. I, p. 63. 
the castle in which it had so long been 
kept. 

13 



work of Blaeu, and it is an interesting fact, as we know, 
that Brahe's observations, here made, formed the basis for 
Kepler's calculations, leading him to the discovery of the 
laws which immortalized his name. 

It was perhaps late in the year 1596, or early in 1597, 
that Blaeu returned to Amsterdam where he soon estab- 
lished himself as a maker of mathematical instruments, of 
maps and of globes, and as an engraver and printer. 

Before the close of the seventeenth century, the Nether- 
lands had moved into the first rank of European states in 
which the art of engraving and of printing flourished. 
Nothing perhaps contributed more to this end, especially 
in the north, than the freedom which there prevailed un- 
trammeled by the restraints of the Index. 

As for the particular art of map engraving and map 
printing, the work of Mercator, of Ortelius, of Waghe- 
naer, had centered the attention of those interested in this 
field upon the Low Countries. As early as 1541, not to 
mention his work of the preceding decade, Mercator issued 
his terrestrial globe gores, which mark a decided advance 
in the art of map engraving, and this was followed by his 
large map of England, of Europe, and of the World, the 
latter setting forth the new method of projection since 
known as Mercator 's projection. Ortelius's great work of 
1570, with its numerous succeeding issues, Waghenaer's 
Mirror of Navigation of 1585, and Mercator 's book of 
maps of 1585, for which collection as a title the name Atlas 
was first used, were superior productions, models for those 
who followed closely within the same field. 

Blaeu acknowledged these men to be his masters, though, 
as was also frequently the case with other map makers and 
map engravers of his day, he occasionally forgot to assign 

14 



proper credit to those from whom he borrowed in the car- 
tographical work that issued from his press. 

We are told that Tycho had given to Blaeu a copy of 
his astronomical observations before their publication, 
that this copy was carried to Amsterdam, and that on the 
record contained therein the latter began the practice of 
globe making. The implication contained in this refer- 
ence is that his first work as a globe maker was the prepara- 
tion of material for a celestial globe, but no such globe of 
his is known bearing date earlier than 1602. His first 
dated work appears to have been a terrestrial globe of the 
year 1599. It was as a maker and vender of mathematical 
instruments, as a collector and close student of maps geo- 
graphical and astronomical, he probably found his chief 
employment during the first years after his return to the 
Netherlands. There is good reason for thinking that from 
the first he prospered in his undertakings, and that he was 
soon in a position to establish an independent business. It 
may be inferred from incidental references that it was not 
long after 1600 he was in his own fully equipped house 
engaged in the business of engraving and printing. 

Blaeu seems not to have become a member of any of the 
guilds in his adopted city, and we, therefore, cannot turn 
to their records for any information concerning his activi- 
ties. His name first publicly appears in the records of the 
States General for the year 1605, in a resolution proposing 
that a sum of money should be granted to him for printing 
and publishing a Nieuw Graetbotick, a name given at 
that time in the Netherlands to a book containing declina- 
tion tables. This resolution reads as follows: "19 Maart 
1605. Is Willem Jansz Blaeu tot Amsterdam geaccor- 
deert octroy, omme voor den tyt van 6 jaren naestcomende 

15 



alleene in de vereenichde provincien in druck vuyt to geven 
een bouxken, geintituleert: Nieuw graetbouck, nae den 
ouden styl vuyt de aldercorrecste observatien van den ver- 
maerden astronomo Tycho Brahe, gecalculeert ende ge- 
stelt op ten meridiaen deser Nederlanden, enz." 6 A copy 
of this work does not appear to be extant, but we may be 
able, as Baudet suggests, to obtain something of an idea 
of its character from later publications of Blaeu, as for 
instance from his "Licht der Zeevaert." 

On his "Paescarte," one of his early publications, and 
usually referred to the year 1606, we read that it was "Ghe- 
druckt t' Amsterdam bij Willem Janssoon op't Waeter 
inde Sonnewijser," a location often referred to in certain 
later publications as "op' t water In de vergulde Sonne- 
wyser," reference being to the gilded sun-dial which as a 
business sign adorned the gable of his establishment. 7 It 
appears that in this originally selected locality his work 
was carried on until the year 1637, when his entire plant 
was moved into more commodious quarters in the Blumen- 
gracht, one year only before his death. On the death of 
Willem Blaeu, in 1638, the business passed into the hands 
of his sons John and Cornelius Blaeu. In 1672 practically 
the entire establishment was destroyed by fire. 

For his ability and attainments as a practical printer 
Willem Blaeu is especially entitled to great honor. He 

6 Given by Baudet, p. 154- resented as the heavier and having the 

7 On the title-page of many of the word "Praestat" printed below it. In 
books published by Blaeu, as on many certain later publications this mark 
of the maps which he issued, appears was replaced by an armillary sphere, 
the expression "Sub signo solarii deau- at the left of which is an allegorical 
rati." Most of the works printed by figure representing Time and on the 
Blaeu before 1619 have as his print- right a figure representing Hercules 
er's device a balance with a terrestrial with the inscription "Indefessus 
globe in the right scale and a celestial agendo." See p. 59. 

globe in the left, the latter being rep- 

16 



Cjjpo gray t to »°i 



PRESS INVENTED BY BL.AEW. 




From Johnson, J. Typographia 



labored on for many years in Amsterdam, making use of 
such presses as were commonly to be found in the printing 
houses of his own and of other lands. Finding, however, 
numerous inconveniences attending the structure of these 
oldtime presses, he was induced, about 1620, to contrive 
remedies. 8 In this, we are told, he succeeded beyond his 
expectations, so much indeed that he had nine of the new 
presses constructed, each of which he called by the name 
of one of the Muses. The excellence of Blaeu's improve- 
ments soon becoming known to other printing houses, their 
proprietors were induced to follow his example, and presses 
of his design became, in the course of a few years, almost 
general throughout the Low Countries, and were intro- 
duced into England, though at first there was here much 
opposition to his new ideas. While the description below 
is that of the Blaeu establishment as it was under the man- 
agement of the son John, yet as it presents to us the print- 
ing house founded by the father, Willem Blaeu, and 
describes a printing house of the middle of the seventeenth 
century, it is here cited in free translation. 

"On the Blumengracht," says Filips von Zesen, in his 
description of the city of Amsterdam, 9 "near the third 
bridge, and the third alley, may be found the greatly re- 
nowned printing house of John Blaeu, Counsellor and 
Magistrate, of this city. It is furnished with nine type 
presses, named after the nine Muses, six presses for copper- 
plate printing, and a type foundry. The entire establish- 

8 See, for brief descriptions of graphia, or the Printer's Instructor. 

Blaeu's press, Stower, C. Printer's London, 1824, v °l- H> PP- 500-551. It 

Grammar. London, 1808, pp. 303-804; is from this last named work that il- 

Hansard, Typography : an historical lustration p. 16 is taken. 

sketch of the origin and progress of 9 Filips von Zesen: Beschreibung 

the art of printing. London, 1825, p. der Stadt Amsterdam, 1664, PP- %15- 

550; and especially Johnson, J., Typo- 216. 

17 



ment on the canal, with the adjoining house, in which the 
proprietor lives, is 75 feet in breadth, and stretches along 
the east side of a cross street 135 feet, or with the attached 
house 150 feet. Fronting on the canal is a room with cases 
in which the copper plates are kept, from which the Atlases, 
the Book of the Cities of the Netherlands and of foreign 
countries, also the Mariners' Atlases and other choice books 
are printed, and which must have cost a ton of gold. Next 
to this first room is a press room used for plate printing, 
and opening upon the cross street referred to above is a 
place where the type, from which impressions have been 
made, are washed ; then follows in order the room for book 
printing, which resembles a long hall with numerous win- 
dows on either side. In the extreme rear is a room in 
which the type and certain other materials used in printing 
are stored. Opposite this store room is a stairway leading 
to a small room above which is set apart for the use of the 
proof-readers, where first and second impressions are care- 
fulty looked over, and the errors corrected which have been 
made by the typesetters. In front of this last designated 
room is a long table or bench on which the final prints are 
placed as soon as they are brought from the press, and 
where they are left for a considerable time. In the story 
above is a table for the same purpose just indicated, at the 
extreme end of which, and over the room occupied by the 
proof-readers, is the type foundry wherein the letters used 
in the printing of the vaiious languages are moulded. 

The foundation of this splendid building was laid in the 
year 1636, by John Blaeu's oldest son Willem Blaeu, 10 
and on the 13th of the fall month of the following year the 

io John Blaeu's oldest son Willem it perhaps points us to an interesting 
was at this time about one year old. exhibition of parental pride. 
If the statement by Zesen is correct, 

18 



printing establishment was here set in order. The original 
founder of the printing house, who died in the following 
year, was John Blaeu's art loving father Willem, who, for 
a considerable time, had been a pupil of the great astron- 
omer Tycho Brahe, whom he zealously followed, construct- 
ing many instruments for the advancement of astronomical 
studies, for the promotion of the art of navigation, and of 
other sciences of like character, an interest in all of which 
he revived and furthered while at the same time he made 
new discoveries, as has become widely known from the 
publications which have issued from this printing house. 

But why should we here give to them such unbounded 
praise ? Since father and son without eulogy from us are so 
well known to the entire learned world, to which they have 
presented such treasures of inestimable value through their 
incomparable pains and at great cost, and are so far ad- 
vanced on the road to immortality, it is more becoming in 
us to remain silent than to speak further concerning them." 

Before turning for a reference more in detail to the pub- 
lications which were issued by the Blaeu press, to a con- 
sideration of Willem Blaeu's most important work as 
engraver, as globe maker, as printer and publisher of maps 
and navigators' charts, a further brief word may be said 
touching certain general interests and activities of his, 
touching certain personal relations and individual charac- 
teristics, which support the conclusion that he was a man 
justly held in the highest esteem by men of science of his 
day, and that he was interested in whatever pertained to 
his great field of study. 

Reference has been made to Blaeu's ability as a maker 
of mathematical and astronomical instruments, which work 
claimed more or less of his attention to the end of his days. 

19 



The fact, however, is a very remarkable one that from the 
many years of activity as an instrument maker with Tycho 
Brahe, and independently at Amsterdam, but one example 
of his should have come down to us. Vossius says that "no 
other scholar ever deserved so much praise as Blaeu on ac- 
count of an extraordinary and beautiful quadrant, which 
can be seen at Leyden in the tower, where astronomical 
observations are being made." 1X His reference is to a quad- 
rant now kept in the Leyden Observatory. It is described 
by Kayser in his Annals of the Observatory as a wooden 
quadrant, with a brass rim, having a radius of seven feet. 12 
In the year 1632 it was purchased from the estate of Wille- 
brod Snellius, and may be said to have induced the found- 
ing of this observatory in the year 1633. 

With the conscientious map makers the problem was 
ever present, how shall accuracy in space relations, accu- 
racy in location of places on the map be attained. Ptolemy 
had been a guide in the earlier years of great geographical 
discoveries and explorations, but geographical knowledge 
soon extended to regions beyond those known to Ptolemy, 
and the inaccuracies of his records, even for those regions 
more or less familiar to the ancients, became very apparent. 
In the maps of the seventeenth century we have interest- 
ingly exhibited the tortuous advance of geographical 
knowledge. They do not show a steady and continuous 
progress toward accuracy. Information which may have 
been accepted as truth respecting certain regions or geo- 
graphical areas, and have been recorded as such by one or 
by many of the map makers, would often be held as doubt- 
ful by those of succeeding years, to be accepted and 
rejected again in turn. Blaeu's intimate acquaintance 

11 See Baudet, p. 15. 12 See Baudet, p. 14. 

20 



with mathematics and astronomy as related to geography, 
particularly as related to cartography, admirably fitted 
him for a certain leadership in this field. We have from 
Vossius the information that Blaeu undertook the meas- 
urement of a degree on the surface of the earth to the end 
that he might aid the map maker in improving his work 
and serve especially the cause of navigation. In his at- 
tempts to find a new and better method for terrestrial 
measurements, it seems probable that he anticipated the 
work of the great mathematician Snellius, whose results 
were first published in the year 1617, and to whom credit is 
generally given for having employed a new method of 
procedure based upon triangulation. 13 Blaeu's measure- 
ments, made along the coast of the Netherlands from the 
mouth of the Meuse to the Texel, were never published, 
probably for the reason, as suggested by Vossius, that he 
may have distrusted their accuracy. The mathematician 
Picard, in his Voyage d'Uranibourg, 14 writes in the month 
of July, 1671, a brief word concerning Blaeu's contribu- 
tions toward the solution of problems having to do with 
terrestrial measurements, giving us in this word practically 
the only information we have concerning the matter. Ac- 
cording to Picard, Blaeu's measurements gave results with 
an error of but 66 meters, whereas for the same measure- 
ments, Snellius's results gave an error of no less than 3880 
meters. Had Blaeu more persistently carried on his studies 
in this particular branch of mathematical geography, his 
name doubtless would have been with the very first in a 
list of those who have made contribution to the science of 

13 The report of this survey may be i* Picard, J. Ouvrages de mathe- 

found in Snellius, W. Eratosthenes matique. A la Haye, chez P. Gosse 
Batavus, de terrae ambitus vera quan- et J. Neaulme, 1731. 
titate, a Willebrordi Snellio suscitatus. 
Lugd. Batav., 1617. 

21 



terrestrial measurement and to a reform of the maps. His 
aim was set in the right direction, and we are safe in saying 
that none, in his day, made greater contribution toward the 
attainment of accuracy in map drawing than did he. To 
be able to understand the nature of the errors so common 
in chart making and to be able to correct the same were 
two very different matters, and although Blaeu was able 
to point out many errors, such, for example, as pertained 
to latitude and longitude, his maps do not indicate that he 
was able to overcome all difficulties. His was not the day 
for scientifically accurate results. Years had yet to pass 
before that end could be attained. To some of his errors, 
and to certain improvements of his, attention will be di- 
rected later. He appears to have been especially desirous, 
at all times, of acquiring detailed geographical and astro- 
nomical information from navigators who visited distant 
regions, making request of them that their observations 
should be reported to him. In a letter to W. Schickard, 
dated June 24, 1634, Blaeu wrote, "When the directors of 
the East India Company placed me at the head of their 
department of hydrography a year ago, I requested them 
to charge all pilots and masters who sailed for India to 
observe all eclipses, in whatever part they might be seen, 
and this has been done." 15 His desire to be of assistance to 
others in giving out such information as might come into 
his possession is made evident by the further word in his 
letter to Schickard assuring him that "if observations of 
eclipses from India or other places on the way are sent to 
me, I shall be pleased to inform you of them." 

The determination of longitude, particularly at sea, re- 
mained for more than a century and a half after Blaeu's 

is This letter is quoted by Baudet,pp. 172-174. 

22 



day a most perplexing problem, a problem, however, of the 
greatest significance in the art of navigation, miscalcula- 
tions being often the cause of most serious disasters. The 
rulers of the maritime states of western Europe not infre- 
quently offered liberal reward for its solution. Philip III 
of Spain, for instance, promised an annuity of 6000 
ducats to the one who would first devise a method for deter- 
mining longitude. 16 Numerous attempts were made in 
Spain and Portugal, as a result of the promised reward, 
but the problem remained unsolved. The States General 
of Holland, for instance, offered a liberal reward to Plan- 
cius should a plan he submitted prove to be of value, which 
plan he had based upon the declination of the needle ; and 
in the records of that body, bearing date May 21, 1601, we 
read that a reward of 150 pounds was promised to any one 
who, having made an expedition for the purpose of deter- 
mining longitude and latitude, could obtain the support of 
six or eight sea captains that his method was of real value. 17 
Blaeu often figured somewhat conspicuously as an expert 
in passing upon the solution of certain problems which 
were offered. Resolutions of the States General, for exam- 
ple, make mention of a plan submitted by Thomas Learner, 
an Englishman residing in Amsterdam, but it appears that 
no satisfactory agreement could be entered into with him 
on his first plans, and it was, therefore, decided to submit 
his subsequent propositions to the College of Admiralty 
of Amsterdam, authorizing this body to ask for a demon- 
stration of the new invention in its presence, to have it 
investigated by Willem Jansz. Blaeu and other masters 

16 See Lelewel, J. Geographie du i? See De Jonge, J. K. J. De op- 

Moyen Age, Bruxelles, 1852-1857, vol. komst van het Nederlandsch gezag 
II, p. 194. in Oost-Indie, 1862-1909, vol. I, pp. 

88-89. 

23 



in this art together with such experienced navigators and 
pilots as the College might see fit to choose, to examine it 
carefully and impartially with especial reference to its 
practical value, and to follow their best judgment as to the 
advisability of attempting to make use of the invention. 18 
On July 3, 1612, the Council of the Admiralty sent word 
to the States General that the aforesaid Learner had been 
examined, in accord with the letter of December 21, 1611, 
at different times, and at his request again and again in its 
presence, by "Willem Jansz," and by many other persons 
experienced in mathematics and navigation, in order to 
find out the truth relative to his proposition ; that they had 
charged the judges to examine honestly, and that it had 
been unanimously concluded the invention was wholly 
worthless. 19 It is not without interest to note that Learner 
made an especial appeal to the Admiralty of Amsterdam, 
charging the committee with partiality and with inability 
to judge the case, but we are not informed that the Ad- 
miralty altered its opinion. 

Taking into consideration the extensive commerce and 
interest in navigation of the United Provinces in this pe- 
riod, it does not occasion surprise that Galileo, after having 
offered in vain to Philip III his plan for a new method of 
determining longitude, should decide to present the same 
to the States General of the Provinces. 20 This plan he 
based upon his discovery in 1610 of the satellites of Jupiter 
and the valuable data furnished him through a study of 



!8 See Baudet, p. 18. be found in Kastner, A. G. Ge- 

19 See Baudet, pp. 18-19. schichte der Mathematik, 1796, vol. 

20 Reference to Galileo and his at- IV, p. 201; Galileo Galilei: Opere, 
tempts to solve the problems relative III, p. 1^.2; Baudet, pp. 131-145. 



to the determination of longitude may 



24 



the eclipses of these satellites. Galileo himself tells us of 
his negotiations with Philip of Spain, stating that the King 
informed him of the many inventions which had been sent 
to him, and which he had accepted, only to find afterward 
that they were of no practical value. Having been so often 
deceived, he had come to the conclusion that a great deal of 
money had been wasted, and had, therefore, decided to be 
more careful in future. It was not until August, 1636, 
that Galileo decided upon presenting his plan to the States 
General, as he informed Hugo Grotius, then Swedish con- 
sul at the French Court, and not until November of that 
year that Laurens Reael handed to the States a letter from 
him containing an explanation of his method, with an offer 
of the plan to that distinguished body. Blaeu is again 
chosen as one of four experts to examine and report on the 
invention. Galileo's plan was well adapted for the deter- 
mination of longitude on land, but because of the ship's 
motion on the high seas it did not prove to be practical 
for navigators, though he suggested the placing of his 
instruments and the observer in a vessel of water on the 
ship's deck, thinking thus to counterbalance the ship's mo- 
tion. By resolution of April 25, 1637, he was to receive 
a reward for the new method he had suggested, but it does 
not appear that it was paid to him. 

Blaeu's training admirably fitted him to serve his coun- 
try in matters pertaining to its maritime interests, and its 
calls as well as its rewards for his services were not infre- 
quent. As further proof of the confidence that his con- 
temporaries had in his knowledge of geography and 
navigation, the States General of Amsterdam, January 3, 
1633, by resolution appointed Blaeu map maker of the 
Republic, an honorable position held by him until his 

25 



death, being then successively passed on to his son and to 
his grandson. In a resolution of October 23, 1666, we read 
that no house engaged in commerce will be allowed to send 
any marine maps to India, or have them taken by captains 
of vessels, except those made by Blaeu ; and in a resolution 
of 1670 it is stated that to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, map 
maker in ordinary of the Company, instruction has been 
given to examine the journals of the pilots and to correct 
and improve the maps. 

It is not easy at this date to determine the justice of the 
several complaints which we find were occasionally made 
by certain map makers of the Netherlands in the early 
seventeenth century against fellow countrymen. There 
was so much borrowing one from the other without credit 
that it would be an exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, 
task to give a complete catalogue of any one of the several 
map makers' work. Rivalry often ran strong, and the 
authorities not infrequently were urged to exercise special 
diligence to prevent the infringement of a copyrighted 
plate, or one that was protected, as they at that time ex- 
pressed it, by an octroi. Between Willem Blaeu and 
Joannes Janssonius this rivalry was particularly marked, 
each claiming at times an infringement by the other. 
Whether it was for protection against Janssonius that 
Blaeu in 1608 presented a special plea to the States of 
Holland and West Friesland, asking that he be made 
secure against the loss caused by pirated editions of works 
published by him, is not certain. He informed the States 
that he had given himself hope of being able to support his 
family in an honest way, and that he would have succeeded 
with God's mercy and blessing, if certain individuals en- 
gaged in the same business had not undertaken to copy his 

26 



new works, as well as his enlarged and improved works. 21 
This rivalry between Blaeu and Janssonius continued for 
many years, involving in some degree Jodocus Hondius, 
the father-in-law of Janssonius. It seems probable that 
Blaeu's complaint of 1608 touched in some manner his 
large World Map of 1605, since, as before stated, there is a 
striking resemblance between this and the World Map of 
Hondius issued about 1611, on which he must have been at 
work for some years, a similarity in which the very differ- 
ences and slight variations cannot be without peculiar sig- 
nificance. 22 

If Blaeu won deserved renown through his scientific at- 
tainments, so the Blaeu press became renowned for the 
excellence of the work which bore its imprint. Its map 
engravers were among the most skilful employed in the 
workshops of the Netherlands, its types were unexcelled in 
simple but artistic form, unless perchance one may accord 
first place to the Elzevir press. His good work, as we 
know, was a spur to others, as, for example, to Hondius 
and Janssonius in the issue of their Atlas of 1633. 

The list of works which issued from this famous printing 
house in so far as we have accurate information, is an ex- 
ceedingly long one, and the titles include many which do 
not touch upon matters geographical, hence do not call for 
consideration in this brief sketch. We may, therefore, pass 
to a more detailed word concerning those works which bear 
particularly upon geography and navigation, to his maps 
and globes. 



2i See Extract uit de Resol. der to some of the many striking similari- 

Staten van Holland en West-Vries- ties, which seem to give conclusive evi- 

land, 5 Aug., 1608, given by Baudet, dence that Hondius borrowed from 

pp. 156-158. Blaeu. 

22 See p. 58 for specific reference 



27 



It does not seem possible at this date to enumerate all 
the maps which might properly be called the special work 
of Blaeu, and it is doubtful if it could have been done in 
Blaeu's day, since he so often borrowed here a little and 
there a little which he incorporated in his maps. Refer- 
ence has before been made to the practice of map makers 
borrowing one from the other, sometimes more, sometimes 
less, without credit. Not all of Blaeu's maps are signed, 
and but comparatively few of them are dated. He did not 
consider it essential always to employ the same name when 
affixing his signature. Sometimes he gave his name as 
Guilielmus Janssonius Blaeu, Guil. Jansz. Blaeu, Guil j el - 
mus Blaeuw; sometimes as Guil. Jansz. Alcmar, Guiliel- 
mus Janssonius Alcmarianus; sometimes as Guiljelmus 
Caesius, or G. J. Caesius, in which, in accord with a prac- 
tice of the time, he had classicized his name Blaeu; some- 
times the name is coupled with that of the son as Guil. et 
Johan. Blaeu, and on certain maps we find the names J. or 
Joan. Blaeu, Johannes et Cornelius Blaeu, maps which 
were wholly or in part the work of the sons, but were 
drawn after the manner of the father. 

Next to his terrestrial globe maps of 1599 and 1602, his 
oldest known map is that of 1605, here issued in facsimile, 
and described below. His "Nywe Paskaerte" of 1606, of 
which but few copies are now known, appears to have been 
the first which he especially designed for navigators. Bau- 
det gives a somewhat enthusiastic description of a copy of 
this map printed on parchment, which at the time of his 
writing was in the possession of Mr. Tiele. 23 It is drawn 
with the west at the top, having a width of 76 cm. and a 

23 See Baudet, P. J. H. Naschrift op. Leven en werken 
van W. Jz. Blaeu, pp. 15-18. 

28 



breadth of 59 cm., extending from 25° 30' to 75° north 
latitude, or from the Canary Islands on the south to the 
Beeren Island on the north, from Terceira on the west to 
and including the Ionian Islands on the east. In a car- 
touche at the bottom of the map is the following inscrip- 
tion, given here in free translation: 24 "Willem Jansz. to 
the kind reader : In this map, dear reader, you will find all 
the sea coasts of Europe carefully drawn by Cornelius 
Doedsz. of Edam, according to true directions and eleva- 
tions, except for the Mediterranean, in which the author 
has purposely omitted the elevations from Malta eastward, 
and has only given direction, according to our common 
Dutch compasses, which, in the vicinity of Candia and 
Cyprus point a little too much toward the northwest, as is 
shown by the fact that Malta, the south shore of Candia 
and of Cyprus are all situated in latitude 36°, although it 
is impossible to reach them sailing west-east, as this map 
clearly shows." To the right of the above inscription we 
read: "Ghedruct t' Amsterdam bij Willem Janssoon op't 
Waeter inde Sonnewijser," and to the left, given here in 
translation: "Since on account of the limited space the 
entire Mediterranean Sea could not be given, we have 
therefore decided, for the use of seamen, to add also the 
part from the coasts of Barbary, Sicily, and Malta, passing 
the Grecian Islands, Candia, and Cyprus to the coast of 
Syria." Of the two small inset maps, one represents the 
Azores, the other the Beeren Island and the west coast of 
Spitzbergen. The eastern part of the Mediterranean, 
Greece and the Ionian Archipelago, the coast of Asia 
Minor and Syria, have been placed in the Sahara Desert. 

24 The inscriptions in the original Dutch are given by 
Baudet: Naschrift, pp. 16-17. 

29 



Longitude is not indicated, but latitude is given on the 
border, each degree being divided into thirds. In this map 
northern Europe is brought too far to the west, and, in 
accord with the general representations of the time, the 
Mediterranean is given too great an extent in longitude. 
The errors in latitude are comparatively insignificant. As 
one of the first examples of the work of Blaeu's printing 
house, it is deserving the special mention given above, par- 
ticularly so by reason of the distinctness of its boundary 
lines, the excellent form of its letters, and the care with 
which geographical details have been indicated. 

A resolution of the States General dated April 25, 1608, 
gives us the information that to Willem Jansz., map maker 
of Amsterdam, the sum of 200 gl. is to be given for the 
dedication and presentation of a book of sea charts, entitled 
"Het Licht der Zeevaert," which lays down the coasts and 
harbors of the Western, Northern and Eastern Seas. In 
this we appear to have first reference to Volumes I and II 
of an important work by Blaeu, of which work a third vol- 
ume appeared in 1621, protected by an octroi of the States 
General for six years, expressed in a resolution bearing 
date August 13, 1618. 25 This resolution of the States in- 
forms us that to Willem Jansz., a citizen of Amsterdam, 
an octroi is granted for the period of six years, to make, 
print, and publish in the United Netherlands, the third 
part of his book entitled "Het Licht der Zeevaert," con- 
taining a description of the sea-coasts of the Mediterranean 
Sea. Copies of the first two volumes, printed in accord 
with the indication contained in the resolution referred to 
above, that is, in 1608, appear not to be known, but there 
exists a French edition of 1619, bearing the title "Le flam- 

25 An extract from the Resolution is given by Baudet, p. 156. 

30 




Interior of Tycho Brahe's Observatory at Uranienburg 
From Le Grand Atlas 



beau de la navigation . . . Chez Guilliaume Jeansz. de- 
meurant sur l'eau, a Fensigne du Solaire Dore. l'An 1619," 
which title is often found in the volume pasted over an 
original Dutch title dated 1620. In translation this Dutch 
title, being practically the same as that in French, reads, 
"The Light of Navigation in which are plainly drawn and 
described all the Coasts and Harbours of the Western, 
Northern, Eastern and Mediterranean Seas. Also many 
countries, islands and places of Guinea, Brazil, East and 
West Indies. Partly taken from the works of the best 
writers on marine matters [as Lucas Jansz. Waghenaer 
and others] but improved through the writings of experi- 
enced seamen, and by making use of their statements and 
explanations; enlarged by many new descriptions and 
maps. All divided into four books, each volume having its 
own index. Hereto have been added [besides a course in 
the art of navigation] new tables of the declination of the 
sun, derived from the observations of Tycho Brahe, and 
calculated from the meridian of Amsterdam. Also new 
tables and instructions in the right use of the Pole Star and 
other Stars, for the benefit of all navigators." In 1627 the 
Dutch edition seems to have been issued by "Jan Janssoon 
wonende op 't water," the first part being dated 1626, and 
the second part dated 1625. 

In the dedication of his third volume to the States Gen- 
eral and to Prince Maurice, a dedication dated September 
1, 1618, there is to be found a statement by Blaeu which 
shows his own opinion of the importance of the first two 
volumes. He writes he is "assured without boasting that 
this third volume will be as useful as the two preceding, 
containing the description of Eastern and Western Navi- 
gation, of which Your Honorable Body [States General] 

31 



and Your Excellency [Maurice] at other times have had 
sufficient proof from trustworthy certificates of well known 
navigators, and also from the statements of the famous 
pilot Lucas Waghenaer." To have from Lucas Jansz. 
Waghenaer a favorable criticism concerning a work which 
was destined to be considered superior to his own, is of no 
little importance. Blaeu further acknowledges in his in- 
troduction the influence of Willem Barentszoen's maps 
upon his own, for he states "to the kind reader" that "we 
have for some years past collected very carefully all obser- 
vations and plans, by means of which we have improved 
and enlarged in many respects the descriptions of Willem 
Barentsz., whose writings have been of much value to us in 
this work. Besides, we have added the descriptions of all 
the sea-coasts in the east which were not laid down by him, 
as of the islands of Candia, Cyprus, the coasts of Syria 
and Egypt, and also of the Greek islands ; and how one in 
this way can sail even to Constantinople ; and we have put 
this all together." "The uses of this Book" he sets forth in 
six brief introductory chapters, in which he treats of "1 — 
The difference between the Dutch and the Italian marine 
maps; 2 — Why the compass needle is not laid directly un- 
der the compass lily; 3 — Why the marine charts of the 
Mediterranean Sea are not drawn showing the degrees of 
latitude; 4 — How to reckon latitude; 5 — How the declina- 
tion of the compass needle or the variation of the compass 
may be determined; 6 — How to find the elevation of the 
sun from its shadow." 

Blaeu's reference to the declination of the needle in this 
introduction is of considerable scientific importance and 
interest. In his day the compass makers found the needle's 
declination for Holland to be from about 7° 45' to about 

32 



8° 26' eastward. They were, therefore, accustomed to lay 
the compass lily a corresponding number of degrees to the 
left or westward from the direction in which the needle 
pointed that this lily might turn to the true north. He 
found that in the Adriatic the declination of the needle 
was 0, and that in the Italian compasses the direction of 
the needle and of the lily agreed. Compass roses on Italian 
portolan or sailors' charts, therefore, indicated no declina- 
tion as the Italian compasses indicated none, and the com- 
pass lily simply marked the true meridian. As distances 
to be sailed in the Mediterranean were not great, latitude, 
therefore, was not laid down, and longitude was omitted, 
by reason of the fact that there was no accurate method of 
determining the same, consequently vessels sailed from 
port to port directed only by the compass. Blaeu wrote 
that "since the skies are there [in the Mediterranean] al- 
most always clear, and the land high, and places are not 
far distant one from another, one losing sight of one. part 
of the coast will be in sight of another part, and the major- 
ity make very little use of latitude. The seamen and those 
who have navigated these parts have not taken into con- 
sideration the latitudes, and follow only general direction." 
This being Blaeu's observation, which is practically taken 
word for word from Barentszoen's introduction to his 
"Caertboeck," one would not, therefore, expect to find 
either parallels or meridians laid down on his maps. He 
gives only compass roses and direction for sailing in accord 
with the Dutch compass. On the maps of Barentszoen, 
which maps Blaeu closely followed in many respects, the 
directions for sailing are given in accord with the Dutch 
and with the Italian compasses. Blaeu could not have fol- 
lowed a better master in plan and purpose, and while not 

33 



always indicating just what he borrowed, he seems to have 
been inclined to give adequate praise to the work of his 
v predecessor. It cannot be without interest to cite here a 
brief word from Barentszoen's introduction to his "Caert- 
boeck," as indicating his spirit and method. He says "that 
not only being urged by my many good friends, but also 
feeling inclined myself to do so, since I always have been 
accustomed from my boyhood up to draw as many maps 
as I found it possible to draw of the countries which I vis- 
ited, or around which I sailed, giving the seas, the waters 
and the directions, I have decided to publish certain maps 
of the sea-coast of the Mediterranean Seas [which I have 
collected for some years past] into book form, for the use 
and the benefit of all navigators, and persons interested in 
navigation. In part, I describe what I myself have seen on 
my journeys, in part what I have learned from other ex- 
perienced navigators and pilots, who have sailed through 
the Strait of Gibraltar to Italy and the surrounding coun- 
tries. And this I have carefully arranged, showing all 
harbors, roads, bays, courses and directions ; giving myself 
a great deal of trouble, and incurring a great deal of ex- 
pense. Since I did not like to rely alone upon myself, I 
invited to my home several seamen and pilots, who sailed 
the Mediterranean Seas, with whom I have communicated 
about my work. I made corrections whenever I found that 
their observations had been more exact than my own, that 
it might not seem as if I, being proud, intended to make a 
name for myself, and as if I had done this work carelessly, 
but that it should be clear I had gone to much trouble." 

A resolution of the States General, dated March 9, 1623, 
granted to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, for a period of ten years, 
the exclusive right to print and publish a work referred to 

34 



in the resolution as "een compendium van den Zeespiegel." 
It appears, however, that this was not issued until 1625, 
and under the title "Tafelen van de declinatie der Sonne, 
ende der voornaemste vaste sterren, Mitsgaders van 't 
verscheyden gebruyck der Noordsterre Nieulycx, alien 
Zeevaerenden ten dienst, ghecalculeert door Willem 
Jansz. Blauw," or "Tables of the declination of the sun 
and of the most important planets with the different uses 
of the North Star calculated anew for the use of all navi- 
gators by Willem Jansz. Blauw." On the title-page ap- 
pears a representation of the cross-staff and the astrolabe, 
with the imprint "tf Amsterdam By Willem Jansz. Blauw 
in de guide Sonne wyser, Met privilegie, Anno 1625." The 
statement is made in the preface that "from the exact 
observations of Tycho Brahe, we have calculated new 
tables of the declination of the sun." These same tables 
are to be found in the Zeespiegel of 1627, and were in- 
tended to replace the old tables of the "Nieuw Graetbouck" 
of the year 1605. 

A second privilege granted by the States General, dated 
March 9, 1623, as the preceding, gives us the first word 
concerning another work by Blaeu intended especially for 
the use of seamen. This work, apparently not issued until 
the following year, though a copy dated 1624 does not 
seem now to be known, bears the following title taken 
from the issue of 1627: "Zeespiegel, Inhoudende een korte 
Onderwysinghe in de Konst der Zeevaert, en Beschry- 
vinghe der Seen en Kusten van de Oostersche, Noordsche 
end Westersche Schipvaert. Wt ondervindinghen van 
veel ervaren Zeevaerders vergadert, en t' samen ghestelt. 
Door Willem Jansz. Blaeuw Tot Amsterdam. Ghedruckt 
by Willem Jansz. Blaeuw, in de vergulde Sonnewyser 

35 



1627. Met Privilegie voor thien Jaren"; or, "Mirror of 
the Sea, containing brief instruction in the art of Naviga- 
tion, and a description of the seas and coasts of the East- 
ern, Northern and Western Navigation. Collected and 
arranged from the experiences of numerous Navigators. 
By Willem Jansz. Blaeuw, At Amsterdam. Printed by 
Willem Jansz. Blaeuw, in the gilded Sun-dial, 1627. With 
a privilege for ten years." 

Blaeu figures his declination tables from the years 1624, 
1625, 1626 and 1627, on a parallel of the earth from the 
meridian of the west point of England, since this longitude 
was most frequently used by the Dutch navigators in sail- 
ing the Channel, as well as in sailing the coasts of France, 
Portugal or Spain. The work is divided into two parts, 
the first being a short treatise on the art of navigation, and 
the second a collection of maps or sea charts. We have in 
this work a striking illustration of the lingering influence 
of Ptolemy, for he takes as a basis of many of the ideas he 
presents the work of Ptolemy. The book does not under- 
take, as Baudet points out, to add to or improve the 
methods of defining geographical location. It does not 
undertake to correct what were the known errors in his 
day. He treats in his first part of the several spheres ; he 
presents what he considers to be acceptable proof that the 
earth is in the center of the universe, as the stars appear at 
all times to be of the same size, in whatever part of the 
heavens they may be ; he explains the construction and the 
use of the cross-staff by means of which the observer de- 
termines the altitude of the sun ; he points out that in deter- 
mining latitude by observing the altitude of the Pole Star, 
2 ° 42' should be taken as the distance from the star to the 
pole; he discusses the subject of atmospheric refraction, 

36 



basing his observations on those of Tycho Brahe, which 
discussion is of special interest since it sets forth the atti- 
tude of seamen of that day toward this subject, and the 
difficulty they had in meeting it by reason of the imperfect 
instruments with which they made their calculations. 

Blaeu's charts are drawn on a plane or cylindrical pro- 
jection, although the projection of Mercator had been 
known for more than half a century. This fact seems to 
suggest the idea that in publishing his book he had not so 
much in view the question of the advance of the art of 
navigation as to meet a desire for a work in agreement 
scientifically with the knowledge of seamen of his day. In 
point of accuracy, Blaeu's charts in this work are wanting 
much, but we must not forget the imperfect methods em- 
ployed in his day for obtaining geographical location. If 
accuracy was wanting in the land maps, much less could 
we expect to find accuracy in the marine charts. Seamen 
in part were accustomed to estimate longitude and distance 
from change in latitude, and the direction in which they 
sailed. The speed of a ship was often estimated from the 
size and the number of sails used. It was not until about 
the middle of the seventeenth century that the log was 
brought into common use, consequently Blaeu makes no 
reference to it. It is interesting to note that a somewhat 
similar instrument was employed about the middle of the 
sixteenth century for measuring the angle which the axis 
of the ship made with its track as observed on the surf ace 
of the water. In his "Spieghel der Zeevaert" of 1584, 
Waghenaer states that for measuring this angle, "it is nec- 
essary to let the plumb line log behind with a piece of wood 
attached or otherwise." A comparison of the maps of 
Blaeu with those of his distinguished predecessors, Lucas 

37 



Jansz. Waghenaer and Willem Barentszoen, warrants our 
assigning to him first place, both in point of execution 
and in the nearer approach to correctness in his drawing. 
John Blaeu, in his Atlas of 1664, referring to the maps of 
Waghenaer and Barentszoen, says that "my late father 
not only greatly improved both of these, but also enlarged 
them for the benefit of navigation, adding to them so much 
that was lacking that his may justly be called a new work." 
In 1646, John Blaeu printed a fourth part of the Zee- 
spiegel, bearing the title "Vierde deel der Zeespiegel, in- 
houdende eene beschryvinge der See-havenen, Reeden, en 
Kusten van de Middelandsche Schipvaert. Uyt onder- 
vindingen van vele ervaren Zeevaerders by een vergadert, 
en t' samengestelt, door Willem Jansz. Blaeu, t' Amster- 
dam. Gedruckt by Johan Blaeu, op 't Water, in de ver- 
gulde Zonnewyser. 1646," or "Fourth Part of the Mirror 
of the Sea, containing a description of the Harbors, Road- 
steads, and Coasts of the Mediterranean Navigation. 
Collected from the experiences of famous Navigators, and 
arranged by Willem Jansz. Blaeu at Amsterdam. Printed 
by John Blaeu on the Water in the gilded Sun-dial, 1646." 
There is included in this fourth part the third part of the 
"Licht der Zeevaert" of 1621, with the arrangement ojf the 
contents and the size of the volume somewhat altered. That 
which is true of certain map publishers in this day, in their 
attitude toward their own publications, was true of the 
publishers of these Willem Blaeu maps after his death. So 
long as there were publishers for them, it was not thought 
to be necessary to improve them, especially so since John 
Blaeu, who had succeeded his father in charge of the busi- 
ness, had taken up what he thought to be more profitable 
printing than the issue of charts for seamen. Other pub- 

38 



lishers, after the middle of the century, were entering the 
field, and the Blaeu marine maps in course of time came to 
be regarded as obsolete. 

What we may call his first Atlas of land maps appeared 
in 1631, with the title "Appendix Theatri Ortelii et Atlan- 
tis Mercatoris." It contains maps which had been pre- 
viously issued, some by himself, many by other map mak- 
ers, while in numerous instances he left it difficult to decide 
both date and origin. We know that as early as 1605 he 
was issuing maps and charts in single sheets, following the 
example of Ortelius, Mercator, Judeus and others. Bau- 
det, it may be noted, expresses himself as being unable to 
decide whether the World Map of 1605, referred to in the 
resolution of the States General of the 23d of April of 
that year, was of this character, not knowing of the exist- 
ence of a copy of the map here reproduced in facsimile 
from that belonging to the Hispanic Society of America. 
"My belief," he says, "is that the World Map of 1605 is 
the 1ST ova totius terrarum orbis geographica ac hydrogra- 
phica tabula, auct. Guiljelmo Blaeuw," according to Mer- 
cator's projection, to be found in the "Toonneel des 
Aerdrycx." 26 Not unlike Ortelius, Blaeu often selected 
for addition to his own original land maps the best which 
he found it possible for him to use, redrafting them on a 
scale to fit his own Atlas. In general, he greatly improved 

26 Baudet says: "I am unable to de- tor's projection, to be found in the 

termine whether the World Map of 'Toonneel des Aerdrycx.' It is not 

1605 and the Mappa Mundi, in two dated, but apparently was printed 

hemispheres, of that year, as referred from a plate which had been used in 

to in the resolution of the States 1606, though improved somewhat, but 

General, are the same. I believe, how- from it the date had been erased, which 

ever, that the World Map is the 'Nova however, according to Lelewel, is 

totius terrarum orbis geographica ac slightly visible "on some copies." See 

hydrographica tabula, auct. Guiljelmo Baudet, pp. 85-86. The "Nova totius 

Blaeuw,' drawn according to Merca- terrarum" is reproduced, p. 52. 

39 



their character by his own re-engraving, giving us maps of 
superior excellence in line, in letter, and in ornamentation. 
He was not unmindful of the high favor in which the 
Atlases of Ortelius and of Mercator were held. He, there- 
fore, shrewdly calls attention to their work by giving to his 
own a title which suggests a connection, though in fact he 
was scarcely justified in calling his Atlas an Appendix to 
Ortelius and Mercator. This Atlas of 1631 contains one 
hundred and three maps, with text in Latin usually printed 
on the back of each. Seven of his maps are dated, twenty- 
seven have the names of the original maker, and many of 
them are signed Guilj. Blaeu, G. J. Caesius or Guiljelmus 
Janssonius et Joannes Blaeu. 

He begins his preface with much praise of Ortelius and 
Mercator, observing that Mercator died untimely for his 
work, after finishing Europe except Spain, and he as- 
sumes it as his task to publish an Appendix to the Atlases 
of these great men. He states that his Atlas will contain 
maps of countries already drawn by them, but he promises 
to improve them. That he did improve not a few of them 
is made evident by a close comparison, yet he left many 
features uncorrected, which easily could have been brought 
to date. 

He often intimated to his friend, W. Schickard, his ever 
present desire to improve his maps, in which references we 
find the first promises of his work issued in 1634 under the 
title "Toonneel des Aerdrycx." In a letter dated Amster- 
dam, November 22, 1633, he tells his friend of his prepara- 
tion for this new Atlas, 27 expressing the hope that he 
would be able to complete the first part during the winter, 
and accepting from him an offer for a new map of Wur- 

27 See Baudet, pp. 96-98, for extracts from his letters to Schickard. 

40 



temberg, for which he was ready and willing to pay the 
price asked. This map he thought would add much to his 
maps of Germany. December 6, 1633, he writes again to 
Schickard: "The esteemed gentleman, Hugo Grotius, has 
informed you that I am planning a new Atlas, and that a 
considerable part of it is already completed, in addition to 
my Appendix Theatri Ortelii et Atlantis Mercatoris, 
which has been published, so that I will be able to issue yet 
this winter two parts of reasonable size, one part of which 
will contain maps of upper and lower Germany, and as I 
should like to add this map of Wiirtemberg which you 
have drawn, and which you have promised me, I therefore 
wish to postpone the publication a little longer. You 
write that this map of Wiirtemberg which you have drawn 
on twenty sheets can be reduced to four of common size. 
If, however, you deem it better to make use of more sheets, 
you may follow your pleasure. Whatever your decision, I 
will pay the price which you ask for it." On January 12, 
1634, Blaeu writes Schickard again: "I am pleased to 
learn you agree with my opinion in regard to the number 
of maps. It is my intention to place two or three provinces 
on one sheet, but it will be necessary, however, to leave some 
open space in which I can write the titles of the maps, arms 
of the country, and the scale of miles. Do not let this worry 
you, however, but follow the divisions which are most easy 
for you. In the case of maps so carefully drawn, it seems 
to me the larger the number, the better it will be. Forests, 
buildings, etc., may be but roughly marked. If you will 
give the size and exact location, I will take care that the 
emblematical figures are properly represented"; and he 
adds that "in order to make sure that the completed work 
is well done, I shall let you correct the plates one at a 

41 



time." Somewhat later Blaeu writes again that "I shall 
give especial attention to the engraving of the plates, 
printing lightly from them at first, in order that changes 
may be made before the final engraving is done. . . . Take 
as much time as you may need, and in case you are un- 
able to finish them during the summer, you may also have 
the winter." June 24, 1634, he writes to Schickard: "I 
have published the first part of my Atlas, containing one 
hundred and sixty maps, with descriptive text in Ger- 
man, translated from Latin. In the Fall I shall publish 
the Latin, French and Dutch texts," these titles being, re- 
spectively, "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum," but dated 1635; 
"Le theatre du monde ou nouvel atlas," but issued in 1634; 
"Toonneel des Aerdrycx," 1634. The arrangement and 
number of maps in the several issues do not agree, but in 
the main features they are the same. The "Toonneel" may 
be considered an enlargement of his "Appendix" done in 
practically the same manner, but with the addition of 
numerous details, and ornamented with additional illus- 
trations. That he borrowed from the "Nieuwen Atlas" 
of Joannes Janssonius and Henricus Hondius becomes 
evident in a comparison of the descriptions of "Germany," 
the "Netherlands," and of certain other parts. 

The "Appendix" and the first two parts of the "Toon- 
neel," published by Willem Blaeu and his son John, may 
be regarded as the beginning of the large Blaeu Atlas first 
issued in 1662 in eleven volumes, a work of unsurpassed 
excellence ; indeed, we may refer to it as the foremost atlas 
produced by the great Dutch atlas makers of the seven- 
teenth century. Its completion and issue, after the death 
of the father, Willem, places it therefore without the scope 
of this sketch, yet as he had contributed so much to insure 

42 



its success by his own early activities, a word of reference 
to it is here fitting. Editions of this work appeared in 
rapid succession in the Dutch, the French, the Latin and 
the Spanish language, the number of volumes being either 
nine, ten, eleven or twelve in each edition, varying other- 
wise but little in the essential features. As numerous copies 
of the work were printed in each edition, it is therefore not 
a publication which can be called rare even in this day. 
Most of these editions were printed from the superior type 
and copper plates of the Blaeu printing house, and on 
paper of fine quality ; some were issued in costly bindings, 
having their maps, coat of arms and emblems of states and 
of royalty exquisitely colored. Copies of the atlas were 
especially prepared for rulers and for statesmen of re- 
nown. We are informed that to Admiral de Ruyter an 
especially fine copy was presented after the two days' bat- 
tle of 1666, and that in the name of the States General a 
copy bound in royal purple was presented to the Sultan 
Mohammed IV, with which he was so well pleased that he 
ordered its translation into the Turkish language. 

v In Blaeu's day globes were held to be of the highest 
value as aids in the study of geography and astronomy. 28 
Seamen engaged in transoceanic navigation counted on a 
terrestrial and a celestial globe as essential to a navigator's 
complete outfit of instruments, and as Blaeu was especially 
desirous of making his scientific knowledge serve the cause 
of navigation, it was but natural that he should turn his 
attention to globe making. 

28 See Fiorini, Matteo. Sfere Ter- Erd- und Himmelsgloben, ihre Ge- 

restri e Celesti di autore Italiano op- schichte und Konstruktion, nach dem 

pure fatt« o conservate in Italia. Italienischen Matteo Fiorinis frei 

Roma, Presso la Societd Oeografica bearbeitet. Leipzig, 1895. 



Italiana, 189S; Giinther, Sigmund. 



43 



Among those skilled in the art of globe construction in 
the late sixteenth and the early seventeenth century, the 
Low Countries could claim such distinguished men as Ger- 
hardus Mercator, Jacobus [Florentius] van Langren and 
Arnoldus [Florentius] van Langren, father and son, 
Jodocus Hondius and Guilielmus Jans. Blaeu, and none 
of these was more skilful than the last named. Both for 
the number constructed and for the quality of the work, his 
globes are cartographical and astronomical treasures of 
the first value. 

The oldest known terrestrial globe extant is that con- 
structed by Martin Behaim of Nuremberg in the year in 
which Columbus made his first momentous voyage across 
the Atlantic. 29 It is a manuscript globe, that is, a ball cov- 
ered with irregular strips of parchment on which the world 
map has been drawn by hand and elaborately colored. In 
the first decades of the sixteenth century, numerous globes 
were made either of copper on which the map was engraved, 
of wood, or of a composition on which an engraved or hand 
drawn map was pasted. Some of these globe maps, as for 
example that attributed to Martin Waldseemuller and 
supposed to have been drawn in the first decade of the six- 
teenth century, hence the oldest known of this character, 
were engraved and printed on gores or bi-angles, and were 
so fashioned mathematically that they would completely 
cover a ball when pasted over its surface, 30 but not until 
Mercator, in 1541, engraved and printed his famous globe 
gore map can such a method be said to have proved itself to 

29 Ravenstein, E. G. Martin Behaim; Prof. Franz V. The Oldest Map with 

his life and his globe. London, George the name America of the year 1507 

Philip fy Son, Ltd., 1908. Contains a and the Carta Marina of the year 1516 

facsimile of the globe printed on four by M. Waldseemuller (Ilacomilus) , 

sheets. Innsbruck, 1903. See p. 14. 

so Fischer, Jos. S. J. and Wieser, 

44 




pa 




o 



o 



o 



be thoroughly practical. From this time on, with now and 
then a slight modification of the number of gores employed 
and of the method of fitting them on the ball near the poles, 
globes have been constructed in much the same manner as 
Mercator had constructed his first example. That he made 
many globes is very certain, yet it appears that all of these 
were long thought to have been destroyed, until about forty 
years ago, when a complete set of his gores was found, and 
at present no less than six others, either mounted or un- 
mounted, can be located. 31 In 1551, Mercator prepared in 
the same manner a celestial globe map, all examples of 
which likewise had been thought to have disappeared until 
the discovery of the set referred to above, and of this globe 
a number of copies are now known to exist. 

Quite as successful as Mercator were the van Langrens, 
father and son, the first globe of the father dating as early 
as 1585. 32 Before the close of the sixteenth century, 
Jodocus Hondius became interested in the construction of 
globes, and, like the van Langrens, continued his work in 
the first decade of the following century, his workshop then 
falling into the hands of his sons, who for many years 
found the manufacture of globes to be a profitable busi- 
ness. 33 

Blaeu, as before stated, must have obtained much of his 
early knowledge of map and of globe construction while a 
pupil of Tycho at the Castle of Uranienburg, for it was 
not long after his return to Amsterdam that we find him 
actively engaged in this work, perhaps in his own work- 
si Van Raemdonck, D. J. Les fuseaux originaux, grave's par Merca- 
spheres terrestre et celeste de OSrard tor et conserves a la Bibliotheque Boy- 
Mercator [154-1-1551], Notice publiie ale a Bruxelles. Saint-Nicolas, 1875. 
a I'occasion de la reproduction de ses 32 Fiorini, op. cit., pp. 192-199. 

spheres a Vaide de facsimile de leurs 33 Fiorini, op. cit., pp. 262-272. 

45 



shop. 34 His first globe is dated 1599. The world map 
here represented is, so far as we have definite knowledge, 
his first cartographical publication, and in many of its 
features it gives evidence that Mercator was the master 
followed, notably in the representation of the loxodrome 
lines which radiate from the wind or compass roses, or from 
the centers regularly placed on the surface of the globe. It 
has a diameter of 34 cm., which is less than that of Mer- 
cator's globe of 1541 but greater than that of van Langren 
of 1585. The gores, twelve in number, have been cut seven 
degrees from each pole, the polar space being covered with 
a circular disc. Blaeu, as many other globe makers of his 
period, found that by thus dividing the engraved globe 
maps a more nearly perfect covering for the ball could be 
obtained. Meridians and parallels are drawn at intervals 
of ten degrees, the prime meridian crossing the island of 
Santa Maria in the Azores group. In conspicuously placed 
legends he presents his address to the reader, that is, to the 
one who may have occasion to make use of his globe, a 
dedication to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, 
which, like the first, is signed Guilielmus Janssonius Alcma- 
riensis, and in separate inscriptions he calls attention to the 
great discoveries and explorations as, for example, those 
of Christopher Columbus, of Amerigo Vespucci, of Ferdi- 
nand Magellan, of Gaspar Cortereal, and of the Dutch 
navigators, with a brief mention of others. All legends are 
in Latin except those referring to the discoveries of his 
own countrymen in the far north, in which he has employed 
the Dutch language. 

As in the issue of his sheet maps, Blaeu was not always 
careful to add an exact date, in the majority of instances 

34 Fiorini, op. cit., pp. 229-262. 

46 



omitting the date altogether, so in the issue of his globes he 
either omitted the date or frequently gave one later than 
was that of the original issue. His geographical records 
serve us, however, as very accurate guides in the determina- 
tion of dates, and what was so frequently true of the globes 
he constructed in the last years of his life was true of this, 
his first. We have, for example, one fine copy of his work, 
bearing date 1599, which contains geographical records of 
1616, indicating, therefore, a late reprint with a few altera- 
tions. 

Three years later, that is, in 1602, Blaeu issued a terres- 
trial and a celestial globe, each having a diameter of 23 cm. 
He refers to his terrestrial globe as an improvement upon 
that of 1599, referring doubtless to its geographical details 
and not to its size. He dedicates his work to the three 
provinces, Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland, calls 
especial attention to the recent expedition of Olivier van 
der Noort, the course of whose expedition around the world 
he lays down on his map, and signs himself Guilielmo Jan- 
sonio Blaeu, substituting his family name for the name of 
his birthplace. On his celestial globe of 1602 he located 
the stars in accord with the reckoning of the year 1600, 
making use, as he states, of the observations of his friend 
and teacher, Tycho Brahe, but for the southern constella- 
tions the observations of the explorer Fredrik Houtman. 35 
By reason of the fact that so few copies of these globes of 
1602 are known to exist, it has been thought that for some 
reason Blaeu issued a very limited number. We know, 
however, that his terrestrial globes were highly valued and 
much in demand, because of the care with which they had 

35 Fredrik Houtman, astronomer Cornelius Houtman to the East Indies 
and navigator, sailed with his brother in the years 1599 and 1600. 

47 



been prepared, because of his effort to give information 
concerning the latest discoveries, and because of his repre- 
sentation of the loxodrome lines which made them of spe- 
cial service to navigators; that his celestial globes found 
favor by reason of the fact that he was known to be a pupil 
and friend of Tycho Brahe ; and that he himself was known 
to be a mathematician and astronomer of distinction. 

In 1603, he undertook the preparation of a celestial 
globe to be considered a companion of his first globe of 
1599. From the observations of Brahe and of Houtman 
he tells us as in his work of the preceding year, that he de- 
rived many of his details, and he honors the former by 
giving his portrait a conspicuous position in his map, 
adding his master's favorite motto: "Non haberi, sed esse." 

The Hispanic Society of America possesses a fine exam- 
ple of Blaeu's early globe work. It is small in size, having 
a diameter of 13 cm., and is well preserved. Near the upper 
part of North America is the legend inscribed in a neat 
cartouche, "NOVA et accurara Terra marisq$ Sphera, 
denuo recognita et, correcta a Guilielmo Blaeu," and in a 
second legend placed to the south of "Nova Guinea," which 
is represented as a part of the great south polar continent 
of "Magallanica," he inscribes his name with date, "Gui- 
lielmus Blaeu Anno D. 1606." There may likewise be 
found in this Society's rich collections a terrestrial and a 
celestial globe by Blaeu which clearly are companion pieces 
and which appear to be unique, the latter dated 1616, the 
former undated. 36 These globes have a diameter of but 

36 Baudet quotes an interesting res- deelen des aertsbodens, die tot dese 

olution of the States General, dated tyden toe ontdeckt ende bekent ge- 

December 10, 1616: "Opte requeste maect syn, mitsgaders eene hemelsche 

van Willem Jansz., haere Ho. Mo. sphera van gelyche groote, is den sup- 

gedediceert hebbende eenen aertscloot pliant voor deselve dedicatie toegeleet 

van grooter formen, inhoudende die vyftich guldens eens." See p. 156. 

48 



10 cm., a substantial and artistic mounting of brass, in- 
cluding meridian circle, horizon circle, four twisted sup- 
port columns and a circular base plate. In geographical 
and astronomical details they are remarkably full, a fact 
especially noteworthy when their size is taken into con- 
sideration. The first he designates as "NOVA ORBIS 
TERRARVM DESCRIPTIO" and adds to this merely 
the name "Blaeu" ; the second he calls a "Sphaera stellata," 
and in a legend he honors his teacher Tycho Brahe by mak- 
ing special mention of his name, signing himself "Guiliel- 
mus Blaeu Auctor excudit 1616." Fiorini refers to a Blaeu 
celestial globe in the Barberini Palace at Rome dated 1616, 
but his description of the same shows conclusively that it is 
very different from the one referred to above, and he ap- 
pears to consider its map a print of later date, though per- 
haps in its main features it was originally engraved in the 
year designated. 

The next dated and signed globes of Blaeu appear to 
be of the year 1622, numerous copies of which the author 
has been able to locate, but in which, however, slight varia- 
tions appear. From this time until his death in the year 
1638, our globe maker seems to have applied himself most 
diligently to this work, the globes of his later years being 
much larger than were those of his early years. This So- 
ciety possesses a well preserved example of his 1622 ter- 
restrial globe which has a diameter of 69 cm. Its map 
gives us excellent proof of Blaeu's superior merit in this 
field. Its geographical details are most numerous, making 
it an object of great scientific value. Among the records 
of special interest, omitting for obvious reasons at this time 
any extended reference to the work, is the representation 

49 



of Manhattan as an island, apparently the earliest on a 
dated map. 

Vossius tells us that in addition to terrestrial and 
celestial globes, Blaeu also made a planetarium and a 
tellurium. In the first, the sun is placed in the center of the 
system, about which revolve Venus, the Earth and the 
Moon, Mars and Jupiter. The second represents the dou- 
ble motion of the Earth, that is, its daily rotation and its 
annual revolution. He remarks that nothing like it has been 
seen since the time of Archimedes. Blaeu himself refers 
to these instruments in his work first issued probably in 
1620 with the title, "Tweevoudigh onderwys van de 
Hemelsche en Aerdsche Globen," as of value for the study 
of cosmography. In connection with his description of 
them, he interestingly observes that the celestial heavens 
are at least 20,000 times greater in diameter than is the 
circle of the terrestrial globe's course, and this in his plane- 
tarium is 2% inches. He adds that the diameter of the 
terrestrial globe's course is 1142 times the celestial globe's 
diameter. 

A very considerable number of his globes, doubtless con- 
structed subsequent to 1622, can now be located, though at 
the time of writing his biography in 1872, Baudet could 
find trace of but five or six, including those of earlier date. 
In a searching study of the history of early globes, it may 
here be stated that the author of this monograph has now 
been able to locate no less than sixty Blaeu globes. 



50 



WORLD MAP OF 1605 

Among the treasures of The Hispanic Society of America 
may be found a unique copy of Willem Janszoon Blaeu's 
engraved World Map in two large hemispheres, issued in 
the year 1605. Stretching across its upper border is the 
title, "NOVA UNIVERSI TERRARUM ORBIS 
MAPPA EX OPTIMIS QUIBUSQUE GEOGRA- 

PHICIS HYDROGRAPHICISQ} TABTJLIS SUMMA INDTJSTRIA AO 
CURATISSIME DELINEATA, DTJOBTTS PLANISPHERIIS GRAPHICE 

depicta a Guliel Janssonio Ajlcmar," a title which in 
its special arrangement and in the form of its letters strik- 
ingly recalls the World Map of Jodocus Hondius of the 
year 1611, which, with Professor Joseph Fischer, the editor 
of this World Map of Blaeu recently issued in facsimile. 37 
Here is a second fine example of Holland's contribution to 
the cartography of a period particularly rich in this field of 
geography. Mounted on the coarse linen so frequently 
used for such purposes at that early day, and attached to a 
rough wooden frame, it is not a little surprising that it 
should have come down to us through these many years. 
The old mounting has not been disturbed for this reproduc- 

37 Stevenson, Edward Luther, Ph.D., plate, issued under the joint auspices 
and Fischer, Joseph, S. J. Map of the of The American Geographical So- 
World by Jodocus Hondius, Facsimile ciety and The Hispanic Society of 
in eighteen sheets with text and key America, Neio York, 1907. 

51 



tion, and with all of its suggestions of age, it hangs on the 
walls of The Hispanic Society's Museum amidst other rich 
cartographical material of the period. 

No reference to this great work of Blaeu appears in the 
literature of cartography, and it seems probable that we 
have here the only copy extant. In the records of the 
States General of Amsterdam may be found, however, the 
entry, "23 April 1605. Is W. Jansz. [Blaeu] van Alc- 
maer, ende Herman Alartsz, die de heren Staten gepresen- 
teert hebben een grote Werelts Caerte, voor een gratuiteyt 
toegelegt 25 gl.," and of the same date, "Id. Is W. Jz. van 
Alcmaer, wonende te Amsterdam, geaccordeert octroy, 
voor den tyt van 6 jaren etc. te mogen doen drukken ende 
vuyt geven een groote mappam mundi in twee ronden, by 
hem yerst uitgegeven." These passages are cited by Bau- 
det in his "Leven en werken van Willem Jansz. Blaeu" 
without comment other than a very brief word which would 
seem to indicate that the author had no definite knowledge 
of the map or maps to which reference is made in the above 
record. 38 It is altogether probable that we have in these 
entries a reference to this particular map. 

Curiously and somewhat vexatiously, one finds in the 
reference to the copyright privilege, granted by the au- 
thorities, appearing on sheet thirteen, the date "23 April 

," the numbers designating the year wanting because 

of the injured condition of the map. Some wonder is oc- 
casioned by the appearance of the French lilies in the 
elaborately engraved cartouche on sheets thirteen and four- 
teen, and by the dedication to Henry IV of France, which 
reads, "Serenissimo Christianissimo ac potentissimo D. D. 
Henrico IIII Franciae et Navarre Regi. Domino suo . . . 

38 See note, p. 39. 

52 




H 



entissimo hanc Universi orbis terrarum Mappam I. M. Q. 
dat di . . . dedicat." Close examination, however, discloses 
the fact that both the lilies and the dedication were skilfully 
pasted on the map after its completion, though by whom 
and on what particular occasion remain matters of conjec- 
ture. The attachment of the coat of arms and the dedica- 
tion must have occurred before 1610, the date of King 
Henry's death, and the fact serves at least to fix the time 
when the map was engraved as prior to that year, or in all 
probability in 1605. 

The map is 244 x 134 cm. in size, including the border. 
The two large hemispheres, each 116 cm. in diameter, pre- 
sent the world, as then known, in stereographic projection. 
An ornamental border surrounds it, and all available space 
outside the great hemispheres and within this border is filled 
with pictures of cities, rulers in martial array, representa- 
tions of the typical races of men, while in the angles formed 
at the top and at the bottom of the map, between the two 
hemispheres, appear the north and the south celestial hemi- 
spheres, each 26 cm. in diameter. 

The map is not well preserved, a fact easily recognized 
in the reproduction. Certain parts, it will be noted, are 
entirely wanting, having fallen away from the old mount- 
ing, but there is little missing that is of the first importance 
excepting the northwest section of South America, the 
western Mediterranean lands and portions of the island 
region southeast of Asia. Though many of the names are 
illegible by reason of discoloration, it was thought inad- 
visable to attempt the cleaning of the surface on account of 
the brittle condition of the old paper. The eighteen sheets 
in the facsimile, corresponding to the eighteen sheets of the 
original, together with the key plate much reduced but 

53 



/ 



/ 



showing the entire map, have been printed on a fine quality 
of Van Gelder hand-made paper. Care has been exercised 
to have each of the sheets appear in the reproduction as in 
the original, in so far as has been possible, no attempt being 
made to remedy defects. 

Blaeu's map may be considered a remarkably excellent 
record of geographical knowledge to date. Most of his 
striking errors in continental outlines are the common 
errors of the day. In the Old World, for example, Africa 
has a breadth of more than eighty degrees, and the east coast 
of Asia, particularly its northern half, is far from accurate, 
but he has given us a representation of the extreme north- 
east section which is superior to that laid down on the large 
world map of his fellow countryman Hondius. The latter 
clearly suited his representation to a belief in a perfectly 
open sea route to China and the distant Orient, showing a 
great breadth of sea between Asia and America in the re- 
gion of Bering Strait, while Blaeu has here a fairly 
accurate record of the geographical features of the region, 
inserting the name "Streto de Anian." The Mediterranean 
has much too great an extension in longitude, and is too 
narrow; the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea have each a 
strikingly erroneous representation as well as location. 
The great austral continental land called "Magallanica," 
in the New World hemisphere, is that which so commonly 
appears in the world maps of the day. In the New 
World, North America is made to extend through more 
than one hundred and sixty degrees of longitude, while 
South America is given a breadth of more than sixty de- 
grees, and its general outline is not well done, though there 
is here clearly an improvement over the maps of Mercator 
and of Ortelius. Blaeu has retained the erroneous repre- 

54 



sentation of the "Martin Forbischers Strate" at the south- 
ern extremity of Greenland; he includes "Frislandia" 
south of "Islandia"; "I dos Demonios" east of "Terra de 
Labrador"; "Brasil" west of "Hibernia al Yrlandia," "As 
Mann" to the southwest; "S. Brandan" near "C. d. Bre- 
ton." For the region north of Europe and Asia, the map 
is especially interesting, making record here of the latest 
attempts under Willem Barentszoen and other less distin- 
guished explorers from Holland who undertook to find a 
northeast passage to China before 1605. That part of 
"Nova Zemla" which was visited is laid down, as are also 
"Nieuland" and "Beeren Eylandt," the names of all places 
designated being in the Dutch language, though an exten- 
sive legend north of Nova Zemla, calling attention to the 
efforts of his countrymen to find a northeast passage, is 
given in Latin, as are all the more lengthy legends. A 
comparison of the maps of Hondius and Blaeu in this par- 
ticular region is interesting, the latter preparing his map 
before the voyage of Henry Hudson, the former making 
record of Hudson's attempt to sail through this Arctic sea 
and noting that he had discovered a great ice barrier, 
"Glacies ab Hudsono detect anno 1608." Finding it im- 
possible to make this passage, it will be recalled that Hud- 
son decided to turn his expedition to the west and the 
northwest, reaching in due course of sailing the east coast 
of North America, which he explored in his two voyages 
from Hudson River to Hudson Bay, losing his life in this 
great northern sea, which bears his name, in the year 1611. 
Blaeu has inscribed numerous legends in the northern and 
northeastern sections of North America, calling attention 
in one of these to the expeditions of Columbus, Vespucci, 
Cortereal and Verrazano, in another to the expedition of 

55 



Forbischer in 1577, and in yet another to the explorations 
of Davis in 1585, 1586, 1587. Numerous legends, it may 
here be noted, appear in different parts of the map, either 
descriptive of the region in which they respectively appear 
or calling attention to certain astronomical and geograph- 
ical questions, as, for example, the lengthy legend on sheets 
fourteen-fifteen, sheet seventeen and sheet eighteen. In a 
map of this character one may say the particular scientific 
and historical value lies in the latest records it contains 
relative to exploration and discovery. Without giving 
here the numerous specific references to such events, or to 
their results as they relate to the expansion of geograph- 
ical knowledge, it may be stated that Blaeu's map is one 
of the richest of the period. His geographical names in 
the Old World alone extend into the thousands, and for the 
New World those both of coast and of interior are exceed- 
ingly numerous. 

Blaeu has called especial attention to the four distin- 
guished explorers who prior to the time of the issue of his 
map had circumnavigated the globe, placing their portraits 
in an elaborate cartouche south of South America and call- 
ing attention to their success in a somewhat elaborate leg- 
end. The four represented are "Ferdinandus Magallanes," 
"Franciscus Dracus," "Thomas Candish" and "Oliverus 
van der Nort," the course of the latter being conspicuously 
traced on the map, his circumnavigation at this time at- 
tracting considerable attention, particularly in the Nether- 
lands. The artistic adornment of Blaeu's map is not its 
least attractive feature. Its elaborate border, so much of 
it at least as remains, there being evidence that at both top 
and bottom much has been cut away, alone gives it almost 
first place among the fine examples of copper engraving 

56 



of the period. On the right and the left we find represen- 
tations of "London," "Hamburgh," "Mexico," "Cusco," 
"Dantzik," "Moskow," "Bergen," "Stockholm," alter- 
nating with representations of typical people of the earth, 
such as "Groenlandi," "Chilienses et Peruviani," "Brasi- 
lienses," "Moscovitae," "Chinenses et Japonenses." The 
"Bex Hispania," "Imperator Romanorum," "Imperator 
Turcarum" and "Bex Chinarum" appear in martial array 
and are given places of special prominence near the top of 
the map, while the "Bex Abissinorum," "Bex Persearum," 
"Magnus Cham Tartarorum" and "Magnus Dux Mosco- 
viae" command in corresponding positions at the bottom. 
In his representations of the celestial hemispheres he gives 
special credit to Tycho Brahe and to Frederik Houtman 
for his information. Parallels and meridians are drawn at 
intervals of ten degrees, the prime meridian passing 
through the islands of "S. Michiel" and "S. Maria." Com- 
pass roses are numerous, two of these being especially con- 
spicuous by reason of the fact that with them appear the 
Dutch names of the thirty-two compass points or directions, 
and the radiating lines serve as loxodrome lines. ]S T o less 
than thirty ships are represented sailing the oceans in all 
parts of the world, carrying either the pennant of Spain, 
of Portugal, of Holland or of England. A few of these 
are curiously interesting, there having been an attempt to 
fashion them after the manner of the countries to which 
they belong, as, for example, a Japanese vessel off the coast 
of Japan, "Navis qua Japonenses utuntur quae illis Cham- 
pan dicitur," and an open boat in the Pacific near the Strait 
of Magellan, "Huiusmodi navicularunt forma freti magel- 
laniei accolis in usu est." Sea monsters are numerous, and 
Neptune is represented in certain parts carrying either a 

57 



trident, a pennant of Spain or one of Portugal. Blaeu has 
not omitted the representation of numerous land animals 
thought to be native to the regions in which they appear, as 
in Africa the lion, the tiger, the elephant, the camel, the 
ostrich, the crocodile; in South America the llama, the 
alpaca, the monkey, the armadillo, the parrot; in North 
America the bison, the opossum which is curiously fash- 
ioned, the fox and the bear. 

Reference has been made to the striking similarity in 
arrangement and style of the descriptive titles of the 
Blaeu and the Hondius large World Maps. This simi- 
larity is further traceable literally in hundreds of de- 
tails, forcing upon us the suggestion that Hondius 
borrowed extensively from Blaeu, since the map of 
the latter is of the earlier date. To but a few of the more 
striking evidences of borrowing, however, can attention 
here be directed. The fact is exceedingly interesting 
that many of the objects otherwise similarly drawn 
are reversed in position as represented on the maps. Blaeu 
turns the faces of his portraits of Magellan and Drake to 
their left, of Van der Noort and Candysch to their right; 
Hondius has reversed the position. Most of Blaeu's ships 
sail in a direction opposite to that in which the ships of 
Hondius are made to sail, the location of the several ships 
being, however, practically the same on the two maps ; the 
most ornamental compass roses are placed in identically 
the same positions; the dedications of the maps and the 
addresses to the reader are similarly placed in ornamental 
cartouches, which, however, in the details of their decora- 
tions differ slightly; each has a somewhat elaborate repre- 
sentation of the cannibals in eastern South America, but in 
their details the pictures are reversed. The line of the eclip- 

58 



tic passes south of the equator in the western hemisphere, 
and northward in the eastern hemisphere on the Blaeu map, 
and this Hondius has reversed ; the position of Blaeu's grif- 
fin and tiger in the heart of Africa has been reversed by 
Hondius. Not to extend such comparisons further, it may 
be stated that a study of the two maps with these similari- 
ties, even in minute details in view, can not fail to interest. 
May there not, therefore, have been good reason for 
Blaeu's complaint expressed to the States General in 1608? 
In this, as before stated, he prayed for protection against 
those who were taking from his work without credit. 




[printer's mark of the blaeu press] 



59 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Aa, Abraham Jacob van der. Biographische woordenboek der Ne- 
derlanden. Haarlem, 1853. Vol. II, pp. 578-580. 

Anonymous. W. J. Blaeu's Antheil an der Bestimmung der Erdlan- 
gen. (Das Ausland. November, 1875. Stuttgart, 1875. Vol. 
XL VIII, No. 44, pp. 865-867.) 

Anonymous. A Bibliographical Curiosity. (Chambers's Edinburgh 
Journal. New Series. May 31, 1851. Edinburgh, W. & R. Cham- 
bers, 1851. Vol. XV, pp. 374-376.) 
Notice of Blaeu's Atlas, 12 vols., 1667. 

Barentszoen, Wi. Nieuwe beschryvinghe ende Caertboeck vande 
Midlandtsche Zee waerin meercklick afgebeeld en beschreven worden 
alle custen vande Midlandsche Zee . . . W. B. Amst., Corn. Claesz 
. . . 1595. 

Baudet, P. J. H. Leven en werken van Willem Jansz. Blaeu. Uitge- 
geven door het Provincial Utrechtsch genootschap van kunsten en 
wetenschappen. XIII, 178 pp. Utrecht, C. van der Post, Jr., 1871. 

Naschrift, 30 pp. 1872. 

Baudet, P. J. H. Notice sur la part prise par Willem Jansz. Blaeu 
(1571—1638) dans la determination des longitudes terrestres. 
Utrecht, K. A. Manssen, 1875. 

Baumgarten, Johannes. Zwei alte Globen von Blaeu. Erdkugel von 
1599 und Himmel-Globis von 1603. (Das Ausland, 13. April, 1885. 
Stuttgart, 1885. No. 15, pp. 299-300.) 

61 



Clement, David. (Bibliotheque Curieuse. Gottingen, 1750-1760. 
Vol. IV, pp. 267-276.) 

A bibliography of the Blaeu Atlases. 

Dozy, Charles M. Willem Janszoon Blaeu. (Tijdschrift van het 
Nederlandsch aardrijkskundig genootschap, gevestigt te Amsterdam 
1887. 2de Serie. Amsterdam, C. L. Brinkman, 1887. Vol. IV, pp. 
206-215.) 

Fiorini, Matteo. Sfere terrestri e celesti di autore italiano oppure 
fatte o conservate in Italia. Roma, Presso la Societa. Geografica Ita- 
liana, 1898. 

See especially pp. 229-262, for a reference to the globes of Blaeu. 

Foppens, J. F. Biblioteca Belgica. Brux., 1680. Vol. I, p. 582. 

Genard, Pierre Marie Nicolas Jean. Les globes de Guillaume 
Blaeu. (Societe Geographie d'Anvers. Bulletin. 1883—84. Anvers, 
1883. Tom. VIII, pp. 159-160.) 

Hues, Robert. Tractatus de Globis. Londinum, 1594. 

Jonge, de, J. K. J. De opkomst van het Nederlandsch gezag in Oost- 
Indie. Verzameling van onuitgeg. stukken in het Oud-koloniale 
archief. Met Register I-XIII. Gravenhage, 1862-1909- 16 vols. 

Kastner, A. G. Geschichte der Mathematik seit der Wiederherstel- 
lung der Wissenschaften bis an das Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhun- 
derts. Gottingen, 1796. 2 vols. 

Lowenberg. Allgemeine deutsche Biographic Leipzig, 1875. Vol. 
II, pp. 686-688. 

Lowery, Woodbury. Descriptive List of Maps of Spanish Posses- 
sions in the United States, 1502-1820. Edited by Philip Lee Phil- 
lips. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1912. 
See pp. 133-135 for valuable bibliographical references. 

Maxwell, Sir Herbert Eustace. Rainy Days in a Library. New 
York, F. P. Harper, 1896, pp. 123-129- 
A reference to Blaeu's Atlas, 12 vols., ed. 1667. 

62 



Mercator, Ger. Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica 
mundi et fabricati figura . . . Duisburgi Cliviorum, 1595. 

We are informed on the title-page that the first and second parts appeared 
in 1585 or 1586, the third in 1589, and the fourth in 1595. 

Moxon, J. (i.e., W. Blaeu.) A Tutor to Astronomy and Geography, 
or the use of the Copernican Spheres. London, 1665. 

Ortelius, A. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Antverpiae, 1570. 

Phillips, Philip Lee. List of Geographical Atlases in the Library 
of Congress, with bibliographical notes. Compiled under the direc- 
tion of Philip Lee Phillips. Washington, Government Printing Office, 
1909. Vol. I, pp. 196-197. 

See, for a list of Blaeu's Atlases, taken from Tiele: Niederlandsche 
Bibliographie, 1884. 

Picard, M. Voyage d'Uranibourg, ou observations astronomiques 
faites en Dannemarck. (Mem. de l'Acad. Royale des Sciences de 
Paris depuis 1666 jusque a, 1699, torn. VII.) 

Raemdonck, J. van. Gerard Mercator, sa vie et ses ceuvres. St. 
Nicholas, 1869. 

Stevenson, Edward Luther, Ph.D., and Fischer, Joseph, S.J. 
Map of the World by Jodocus Hondius. Facsimile in eighteen sheets 
with text and key plate, issued under the joint auspices of The Amer- 
ican Geographical Society and The Hispanic Society of America. 
New York, 1907. 

Stower, C. The Printer's Grammar. London, 1808, pp. 303-304. 

"T." Erste uitgave van Blaeu's Licht der Zeevaert. (Bibliogra- 
phische Adversaria. Gravenhage, M. Nijhoff, 1883-86. Vol. V, 
pp. 293-295.) 

Tiele, Pieter Anton. Leven en werken van Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 
door P. J. Baudet . . . 1871. (De Gids. 1872. Amsterdam, P. N. 
Van Kampen, 1872. Derde Serie, Vol. I, pp. 356-367.) 

Tiele, Pieter Anton. Nederlandsche Bibliographie van Land- en 
Volkenkunde. Amsterdam, 1884. 

See for bibliography of works of Blaeu, Mercator, Ortelius, et al. 

63 



Uffenbach, von, Zacharias Conrad. Merkwiirdige Reisen durch 
Nieder-Sachsen, Holland und Engelland. Ulm, 1753. Vol. Ill, 
p. 600 et seq. 

Vossius, G. J. De Scientiis mathematicis. 1660. Pp. 199* 263. 
Quoted by Baudet. 

Waghenaer, Lucas Jansz. Spieghel der Zeevaerdt van de navigatie 
der Weslersche Zee. Leyden, 1584. 

Waghenaer, Lucas Jansz. Spieghel der Zeevaert inhoudende de 
geheele Noordtsche ende Oostersche Scheepvaert. Leyden, 1585. 



64 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BLAEU'S PRINCIPAL 
GEOGRAPHICAL PUBLICATIONS 



Nova Universi Terrarum Orbis Mappa ex Optimis Quibusque Geogra- 
phicis hydrographicisqj Tabulis Summa Industria Accuratissime 
Delineata et Duobus Planisphaeriis Graphice Depicta a Guliel 
Janssonio Alcmar. Amsterdam, 1605. 

It is this unique map which has been here reproduced. 

Nieuw graetbouck, nae den ouden styl vuyt de aldercorrecste obser- 
vaten van den vermaerden astronomo Tycho Brahe, gecalculeert ende 
gestelt op ten meridiaen deser Nederlanden. 

Baudet finds that, from the octroi or patent, this was probably issued in 
1605. There does not appear to be a copy of this work extant. 

Le Flambeau de la navigation, monstrant la description et delineation 
de toutes les costes et havres de la Mer Occidentale, Septentrionale 
et Orientale . . . Par Guilliaume Janszoon. Amst., Guill. Jansz . . . 
1619. 

Het Licht der Zee-vaert daerinne claerlijck beschreven ende auf- 
ghebeeldet werden alle de eusten ende havenen vande Westersche, 
Noordsche, Oostersche ende Middelandsche Zeen. . . . Door Willem 
Janszoon. Amst., ghedr. bij Willem Janszoon . . . 1620. 

Baudet finds that the first and second volumes of this work must have 
been issued first in 1608, there being a reference to the same in a resolu- 
tion of the States General of that year. 

Tweevoudigh onderwys van de Hemelsche en Aerdsche Globen; Het 
een na de meyning van Ptolemeus met een vasten Aerdkloot; het 

65 



